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Thursday, November 03, 2016

Jazz Vocalist KENDRA SHANK and Pianist GEOFFREY KEEZER team up for "HALF MOON"

Kendra Shank and Geoffrey Keezer's musical association began
in 2008 at the Athenaeum jazz series in San Diego, CA when a cancelled flight
prevented Shank's New York pianist from making the gig. With just 30 minutes to
rehearse, Keezer stepped in with a seamless performance and instant chemistry
with Shank that inspired a standing ovation. Kendra called on Geoffrey's trio
for subsequent West Coast tours and their musical connection deepened.

In January 2015, while Geoffrey was in Manhattan on an
engagement with Chris Botti, he and Kendra performed an afternoon concert at a
friend's home. The intimate duo setting provided the pianist and vocalist
unlimited freedom to create spontaneously in the moment, taking the
enthusiastic audience on a magical journey that was captured on this Ride
Symbol recording.

The title song "Half Moon," inspired by a lamp
hanging over the piano, was completely improvised and reveals Shank at her most
vulnerable. Keezer's 88-key orchestra of harmonic and rhythmic virtuosity and
Shank's exotic wordless vocalizations are highlighted in Cedar Walton's
"Life's Mosaic," while the duo's lyricism shines in this first-ever
recording of Jeremy Siskind's "Kneel" (winner of ASCAP's Herb Alpert
Young Jazz Composers Award). The chart for "When Love Was You and Me"
(Abbey Lincoln/Thad Jones) was given to Kendra in 1994 by her mentor Abbey
Lincoln when Kendra visited her Upper West Side apartment -- coincidentally in
the same building where this concert took place.

Throughout this diverse and inspired set, Shank and Keezer
embody the playful inventiveness of making music as interactive partners,
transcending the singer-accompanist mold. "Each time we collaborate brings
joyful exploration and new musical discoveries," says Keezer in the liner
notes. The album's executive producer, Donald Elfman, writes: "What a
pleasure it is to hear jazz musicians who fully savor every moment: sharing
their experience of creating, listening and playing off each other, and still
improvising in individual voices."

GEOFFREY KEEZER With
his highly regarded discography, unique compositions, and acclaimed
performances in a variety of configurations, Grammy-nominated pianist Geoffrey
Keezer commands the attention typically reserved for the living legends of
jazz. Whether recording with jazz vocalists Diana Krall or Dianne Reeves,
touring with trumpet king Chris Botti, or collaborating with pop icon Sting,
sax legend Wayne Shorter, guitar wizard Jim Hall, star bassist Christian
McBride or vibes master Joe Locke, Geoffrey "has more than enough
virtuosity and sheer musical wit and intelligence to weave all of his
apparently disparate strands of influence into an original and compelling
whole" (Time magazine). His recent release, Heart of the Piano (2013,
Motema Records), redefines solo jazz piano as a personal and interactive
showcase of melody, energy and groove. Geoffrey Keezer's singular style of
intellectually abstract lyricism woven over exotically complex rhythms and
harmonies makes him one of the most sought-after artists on the modern jazz
scene. geoffreykeezer.com

KENDRA SHANK Since
her 1992 debut at the Village Vanguard with Shirley Horn, Kendra Shank has
become a mainstay on New York's jazz scene, has toured in Europe, Asia, Africa,
Australia, Canada and the U.S., and has appeared on NPR's JazzSet and Marian McPartland's
Piano Jazz. Her seven critically acclaimed CDs have garnered numerous “Best of
the Year” citations and DownBeat poll recognition, with accolades for her
"delectable voice" (Time magazine) and "breathtakingly original
concept" (Boston Globe). In addition to leading her NY quartet of 16 years
with Frank Kimbrough, Dean Johnson, and Tony Moreno, Shank co-leads a duo with
guitarist John Stowell and has performed and/or recorded with Abbey Lincoln,
Fred Hersch, Larry Willis, Joe Locke, Jay Clayton, Bob Dorough, Gary Bartz,
Steve Wilson, Victor Lewis, Matt Wilson, Ben Monder and many more. Kendra Shank
mixes modern jazz, standards, world music, folk/pop, and open improvisation,
all unified by her soulful storytelling, inventive phrasing, and spontaneous
group interplay. kendrashank.com